What He Went Through
by Serene Grace
Summary: The Straw Hats get a chance to see what truly went down during the Impel Down invasion, and the Battle of Marineford. Instead of looking into Luffy's memories, they get to see everything that happens on the battlefield, even before Luffy arrived. It was then that they realized how much pain Luffy is in.
1. Chance to See

**S/N: Hey guys. This is the first chapter of the rewritten What He Went Through, with Impel Down included. Hope you like it. :) Enjoy!**

**I don't own One Piece! Oda Eiichirō (or as I like to call him, "Kishi's One and True Rival") owns everything One Piece-related! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

* * *

_**What He Went Through**_

_Chance to See_

* * *

Zoro had his arms behind his head, and was lying on the floor, snoring lightly as he took his regular afternoon nap. The Straw Hats had just finished their business as Punk Hazard and took off with Law to an island called "Dressrosa" to apparently challenge Yonko Kaido and take down Doflamingo's kingdom. Zoro had nothing against the idea of course, just as long as he got to kick some ass along the way. So to loosen up his muscles and get rested enough for the inevitable battle coming up, he decided to get some sleep. A nice, dreamless sleep was one of Zoro's favorite things, being surrounded by idiots of course (not that he wasn't one himself). He was glad that he could at least get an undisturbed nap after such a chaotic day...

Until a familiar certain someone decided to ruin it.

"_...Wak...the fu...Wake up, shitty marimo..._"

Eyebrow instinctively twitching at the voice and nickname, Zoro kept himself from glaring or flipping off the cook, despite every inch of his body wanting to do so. He managed to somehow drown out all of Sanji's yelling. And then the witch decided to join him.

"_Wake up...already... Stop sleeping... all the time..._"

Somehow, Zoro managed to drown out her voice too. It seems that all that training meditating and such wasn't for nothing.

"_Hang on, Nami-san... I got this..._"

After Sanji said that, Zoro felt his body being ripped from the ground and flying several tens of meters away. A vein popped in Zoro's forehead. Now fully awake, Zoro sat up and snapped at Sanji, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, LOVE-COOK?!"

"IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT FOR FALLING ASLEEP AT A TIME LIKE THIS! LOOK CLOSELY AT WHERE WE ARE, DUMBASS!"

It was then that Zoro realized that he wasn't on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. He wasn't even on an island. Hell, it seemed like he was _nowhere_. Everywhere, no matter which direction he looked, was an endless, white void. The others were present as well, looking around the void just as confused as him.

Zoro picked himself up, rubbing his head. "The hell? What the hell is this?" he inquired.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Nami said. "That's not everything either, Luffy's missing."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. He looked around and noticed how there was no annoyingly loud yelling from his rubbery captain.

"Zoro, what's gonna happen to us?" Chopper asked the swordsman with fearful tears running down his cheeks.

"We could be trapped here forever, you know. And we could all end up starving to death or something of that sort," Robin said calmly, easily freaking out Usopp, Chopper, and Brook.

"How can you say that so calmly?!" Usopp yelled.

"I wanna be stuck here forever!" Chopper cried.

"Me neither! I'd be nothing but bones by then! Oh, wait. I already am nothing but bones. YOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed.

"OH, SHUT UP WILL YA?" Usopp snapped.

"Guys," Franky said, holding a piece of paper in his hand-in-a-hand, "I think I just found a clue as to why we're trapped here."

Zoro took the paper and read it aloud. "_You may be wondering why you are here. That reason is so you may be able to witness something that you all might or might not want to know._"

"Witness something? What the hell is that talking about?" Sanji said.

Zoro continued reading. "_The room which you are in is the viewing room, so to say. Here, you will be seeing the event that your captain, Straw Hat Luffy has gone through alone._" Zoro furrowed his eyes at that part.

"Something that Luffy went through? What does that mean?" Usopp asked.

Nami had a pretty good idea though. "Um... You don't think that 'event' is..."

"...Ace's death, perhaps?" Robin finished, surprising the rest of the Strawhats.

"We're gonna see Ace's death?! I don't wanna see that! I don't wanna see Luffy suffering afterwords either!" Usopp exclaimed, trying to imagine just how much pain Luffy was or still might be in.

"Poor Luffy-san has suffered a lot from that loss," Brook said solemnly.

"Will we really have to see that?" Nami asked, worried.

Zoro kept on reading. "_While you are in this room, you'll have no choice but to see that event. However, it is up to you whether or not you will stay in this room. But remember this; once you have decided, you cannot go back on that decision and you will remember everything seen here for the rest of your lives. If you decide to go back instead of stay, you will be returned and have no memory of this place. What is your decision?_" Below that question was the words "STAY" and "GO BACK".

"How the hell are we supposed to choose on that?" Sanji asked. Just then, a black pen attached to the same note appeared out of no where with the sentence "With this pen" and an arrow pointing to the pen.

"Whoa! Sanji, how did you do that?!" Chopper asked.

"I didn't do anything!" Sanji protested.

"This thing is messing with us," Zoro sighed.

"Well, what should we do?" Nami asked.

"No idea. We don't know how this thing could go," Franky said.

"I don't really wanna see Ace die," Usopp said nervously. "Right before Luffy's eyes too! Do you know how horrifying it would be to see Luffy in that much pain?!"

The crew fell silent then.

Chopper turned towards Zoro. "Z-Zoro?" he asked nervously. "What do you think?"

Zoro stayed silent for a while before saying, in a voice just above a whisper, "I think... that we should do it."

"Eeh?!" Usopp, Nami, Chopper and Brook said in a panic.

"Why would we do that?! What reason do you have?!" Nami said.

Sanji took in a puff of his cigarette. "I'd hate to say it," he said, "but I'm gonna have to agree with the shitty marimo. While it would be a pain to see what Luffy had to go through, you never know. It could turn out to be..."

"...Beneficial in a way?" Robin finished.

"How could seeing that be beneficial, Robin-san?" Brook asked, curious.

"We could have a better understanding of his mind," Zoro answered. "We could begin to understand how much pain he's been through all these years. Besides, what have we got to lose?"

Usopp stayed silent, taking in his words, before finally agreeing. "Fine! Just please don't let it be painful!"

Zoro circled "STAY" before the writing on the note was replaced with new writing, which he read aloud. "_Now that you've chosen, don't end up regretting that decision. What you will be seeing is the entirety of Straw Hat Luffy's Impel Down invasion, the Paramount War, and the aftermath for your captain. Not everything from the war will be seen, but only scenes and moments that will affect Luffy and his actions. Once it is done, you will be returned to wherever you came from. Enjoy the show._"

"That note makes it seem like this is some kind of movie or something," Nami said, cringing.

"I'm scared," Chopper said, clinging to Zoro's pant leg like he normally would.

"Don't worry!" Usopp laughed. "I'm sure it won't be so bad! We'll be able to stand it! When is it gonna start anyways?"

As soon as Usopp said those words, the white void began to change. Dark blue, brick walls surrounded the Strawhats, and through the darkness of it all, a bloodied cell came to vision in the eerie atmosphere of it all

"Whoa! Usopp, what did you do?!" Chopper asked, amazed.

"I didn't do anything! I don't even know what happened!" Usopp replied.

"That was amazing, Usopp-san. You must teach me how to do that!" Brook chimed in.

"I SAID I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Usopp yelled, mostly because of his nervousness.

"Look, someone's coming," Sanji said, pointing to the end of the room. A door opened and closed in a rushed manner. Two people entered the room, one of them was familiar to the Straw Hats, but it wasn't until one of them spoke when they really recognized him.

"Here he is, Vice Admiral Garp. Please be careful," the warden said.

"Yeah," came the gruff response.

"Garp?" the Straw Hats minus Brook said.

"Hm? Who is this Garp-san?" the skeleton inquired.

"He's Luffy's grandfather, who has visited him back in Water 7. Garp is most famous for being a Hero of the Marines and is rumored to be the strongest," Robin said.

"Grandfather? Luffy-san's grandfather is a Marine?"

"His family is a very diverse group of people. You can tell by the fact that Luffy's dad is the Revolutionary Dragon, the most wanted man in the world," Nami explained.

Brook raised an eyebrow...if he had eyebrows. "I see. Luffy-san's heritage is very intriguing."

"Dear me. This is a fine state you've got yourself into," Garp said, gaining the Straw Hats' attention.

They all gazed into the cell before them. The sight inside it...was horrifying. Lying there, bound to the wall by his wrists, was a bloodied and beaten Portgas D. Ace. The boys' body was soaked in blood, the only piece of tattered clothing he had on him was his old black and orange shorts. His ankles and hands were tied by Kairoseki handcuffs, draining his of his already exhausted power. To see such a powerful person be reduced to this type of state terrified the Straw Hats. They didn't know who to be more sorry for, Ace for having to go through this, or Luffy who had to watch Ace go through this and still be unable to save him.

"Is... Is that Ace?!" Nami said, covering her mouth with her hand in shock.

"How... How is he still alive in that condition?" Usopp said incredulously.

"He has so many injuries and sicknesses I can't even count them all! How can they do that to a person, even if he's a criminal?!" Chopper said, crying.

Robin looked at their little doctor in sympathy. "It's probably because of his heritage for him to get in this kind of condition. Because he was Gold Roger's son, the Marines deemed it fitting to make him go through this torture."

"That's not right though! No one deserves this!" Chopper said indignantly, wiping his tears with his paws.

"Tell me about it," Franky agreed in disgust. "This is why I hate the Government. They always come up with bullshit reasons to treat so-called 'criminals' badly. It's just plain bullshit."

The others had to agree. It was just cruel, and the fact that this was their captain's beloved brother made it even worse. The Government didn't even have a good enough reason for doing so.

"Are you still breathing?" Garp asked, "...Ace?"

Ace looked up, his face set in a permanent scowl. "Gramps..."

* * *

**S/N: That's all I can churn out now. It's mainly the same, as you can see, other than a few minor details and the ending of course, but there's not much change. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this.**

**DON'T FOREGT ZE REVIEWZZZZ!**

**Ta-ta~**

**-Serena**


	2. Entrance to Hell

**S/N: Second chapter. It'll include the setting to Marineford and the start of Luffy's breaking into Impel Down. Enjoy!**

**I don't own One Piece! Oda Eiichirō (or as I like to call him, "Kishi's One and True Rival") owns everything One Piece-related! I only own the plot! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

* * *

_Entrance to Hell_

* * *

_"Are you still breathing?" Garp asked, "...Ace?"_

_Ace looked up, his face set in a permanent scowl. "Gramps..."_

Suddenly, the cell, Ace and Garp faded into a black void.

"What the...?! What just happened?!" Usopp said.

The black void gradually started to turn into the blue sea, with a Marine battleship riding the waves.

"A...scene change perhaps?" Robin guessed.

"Why would there need to be a scene change?" Brook asked.

"Dunno. But nothing we can really do about it 'cept just watch what happens," Zoro said, eyebrows furrowing at the new scene.

Inside the battleship, Luffy was staring at the fading piece of Ace's Vivre Card. It crackled at it slowly burnt away along with Ace's life force. The emotion in Luffy's eyes was unreadable.

Before the Straw Hats had a chance to say anything, another scene change happened, and the eight pirates found themselves at Marineford.

"How often are these 'scene changes' gonna happen?" Sanji snapped irritably.

"It's gonna take a while to get used to them," Franky added.

_**Marine Headquarters are now even more on-edge...**_

"The hell?! Who was that?!" Usopp said.

…_**.Whilst at the port of Marineford...**_

"Is it...some kind of narrative voice?" Robin said.

"Why would we need a narrative? We can already see what's going on," Zoro said.

"I'm not sure myself... Regardless, we should keep watching. Look who's up ahead."

The Straw Hats glanced at the bay, and found themselves staring at incredibly strong soldiers everywhere, marching towards the soon-to-be battlefield.

…_**.Powerful soldiers who have made a name for themselves all over the world are arriving, one after another. Every shred of military force...**_

The Straw Hats recognized some of the forces about. Such as Captain Hina from Alabasta, Captain Smoker and Ensign Tashigi, Admiral Aokiji, Admiral Kizaru. Even the Fleet Admiral Sengoku was seen. It was clear that the Marines were prepared for nearly anything being thrown at them. This truly was going to be a battle that would shake the world.

_**Meanwhile, at the Holy Land of Mariejois...**_

The scene changed to a room in Mariejois, where a dinner was being held with some of the most powerful people the Straw Hats could ever imagine...

_**The Shichibukai who have thus far been assembled are in the middle of their own battle conference. Truly a gathering of villains and knaves...**_

"Holy shit," was all Franky could get out right now.

"I-it's all the Shichibukai we've encountered before!" Chopper said, scared.

"Moriah... Kuma... Hawk-Eyes... Doflamingo... They're all there, preparing to fight," Sanji said, disturbed.

"Wait a minute," Nami said, realizing something. "That guy... He's a Shichibukai?! Zoro look, it's that guy! The one from Jaya!" She pointed towards Blackbeard, who was feasting happily on some cherry pies.

Zoro nodded. "Really, him of all people being a Shichibukai," he scoffed.

"The fact that we've already met 80% of the people here unnerves me," Usopp said.

"This war...will truly be a sight to remember," Robin said.

_**But one thing, at least, is all too clear... for these men to fight together as a team... is entirely unthinkable...**_

"That narrator guy, whoever he is says it like it is," Zoro said, nodding in approval.

"I don't even want to imagine them fighting together like that," Usopp said.

"The Whitebeard Pirates would nearly be wiped out if they all went all out and worked together as a team in the war. The battle would be even more chaotic and blood-filled if that happened," Robin said.

"OI! I JUST SAID I DON'T WANT TO IMAGINE THAT!"

The scene changed to Garp visiting Ace in his cell.

"'Kill me' you say? Don't get ahead of yourself, idiot. That won't do any good at this point," Garp said. "Even if you were to die right here and now, that wouldn't stop Whitebeard... Nothing can stop him now. We have already angered... the _Ruler of the Seas._"

The way Garp said it sent shivers down the Straw Hats' backs.

"Wh-what does he mean by that?" Nami asked.

"He's saying it...almost as if he _knows_ the worst possible thing would happen," Sanji added.

"You know..." Robin said, "...I have to sympathize with Garp."

The Straw Hats looked at her in confusion. "Sympathize? What do you mean, Robin-san?" Brook asked.

"It's because Garp had to watch his own grandson be tortured, beaten, and eventually killed. And he couldn't do anything about it because of his duties as a Marine."

The Straw Hats slowly took this in. "He had to see his own grandsons go through literal hell... That's the worst possible thing that could happen for a parent," Nami said.

"Still," Zoro said firmly, "he had the choice to choose whether or not to value his family over his duty. And we all know what happens at the end of this."

Sanji glared at the swordsman. "We don't know exactly what happened at the war, idiot marimo. It's too damn early to start implying things like that."

Before Zoro could retaliate, Garp continued. "Ah, I do wish you and Luffy had become great Marine soldiers like I wanted you to. To think that you would both do the very opposite and become rogues. Oh, yes. Come to think of it, I told Luffy about his father. He was rather surprised to learn that he even had one."

"It doesn't matter whether... we know it or not..." Ace replied. "The fact remains that both Luffy and I... have the blood of a global-scale criminal flowing through our veins... How could we possibly become Marines...?"

"Hm," Robin grunted, getting the Straw Hats attention.

"What is it, Robin-chan?" Sanji asked.

"...You all remember, don't you? The fact that Luffy and Ace don't have the same parents?"

"That's right. Luffy was Dragon's son while Ace was Gold Roger's son. But what does that have to do with this?" Nami said.

"Well, since Ace is Roger's son, how could Garp possibly get a hold of Ace? It doesn't make sense..."

The Straw Hats thought about it. It didn't make sense. How _did_ Garp manage to take Ace and raise him like his own grandson?

"However," Ace continued, "I took the name 'Portgas' from my mother... whom I owe a great debt... I don't care one jot for that half of blood that comes from my useless father... I have no memories... or debt to him whatsoever."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense, that guy being how he is," Garp supplied.

"The way Garp's talking about Ace's dad seems a bit fishy to me," Franky said.

"It's almost as if he knows him personally," Nami said.

"Perhaps that explains how Garp was able to take and raise Ace under his own hand," Robin said.

"And that's why, gramps..."

The scene changed to Ace and tall, strong figure in a grayish color. Almost like a flashback.

"Is that... Whitebeard?!" Usopp said.

"H-he's huge!" Chopper exclaimed in fear.

"God, what kind of power does he have?" Sanji said.

"Well, he's not called the Strongest Man in the World for nothing," Zoro said dryly.

_"This is no place for you to die, boy," Whitebeard said, standing over a beaten and battered Ace._

_The boy looked up to glare at the man, who had his hand outstretched towards Ace. "Take my name upon your back, and rage across the seas to your hearts' content! Become a son of mine!"_

Ace looked up to smile at his grandfather, a smile that held no doubt or mourn. "I have only one father... And that father is Whitebeard."

Garp stared at Ace, almost in self-disappointment.

The scene changed to and undersea view, with a large fortress-like structure with levels going down to the very bottom of the sea, the bottom level being the largest. Sea Kings everywhere swam around the structure like guards on prison duty, which was ironic. Even in the dense sea and the unbreakable walls, the tortured screams of prisoners rang in the Straw Hats' ears. Whips cracking, fire burning, knives and swords slashing, any kind of torture humanly possible was audible in the undersea prison.

It unsettled the Straw Hats.

"The Great Underwater Prison..." Nami muttered, "...Impel Down."

"So this is what the pirates of this age call 'Hell'," Robin said.

"J-just what did Luffy have to go through in this place?!" Usopp said.

"This isn't gonna be a pretty sight," Sanji said dryly.

The Straw Hats watched as the guard in the lowest level, the Minotaurus, proceeded to beat the living crap out of the prisoners who were too rowdy or fought over food in the cells. They saw the demon-like creatures roaming Level 2 (which includes giant spiders, making Sanji, Nami, and Chopper freak out while Zoro watched the chef in amusement), the sharp spikes and knives of Level 1, the blazing fires of Level 4, and the torture systems of all the levels in a whole.

Before anything could be said, the scene changed to a Marine battleship arriving at Impel Down's Gates of Justice.

"Vice Admiral Momonga!" a Marine said, "We've arrived at Impel Down!"

"Thanks to the headwind, we arrived a little later than anticipated."

"Damn it all," the Vice Admiral cursed. "Call Hancock out here immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

"Hancock? You mean Boa Hancock?" Nami said.

"That's right! Luffy mentioned getting help from Hancock before," Usopp said.

The scene changed to Luffy looking out the window in Hancock's room, proving Usopp's point.

"She's so beautiful~!" Sanji cooed, doing his lovestruck noodle dance while Zoro resisted the urge to whack him over the head.

Luffy looked outside in shock, disturbance, and concern. "What the hell...?"

"It is only natural, as protection for this, the most dangerous place in the entire world," Hancock said.

"There are more battleships here...than there were in the Buster Call. And Ace...in a place like this..." Luffy said.

"I daresay he is deep down under the waters," Hancock said, opening her coat. "Now quickly, inside my robes."

Sanji stopped fawning over Hancock's beauty to take what she had just said in. "Inside...her robes...? Inside... Inside her robes... In. Side. Her. ROBES?!" The blond burst in literal flames to express his anger.

"Sanji-kun, calm down!" Nami said, trying to burn out the flames. Meanwhile, Zoro watched Sanji's outburst and anger in amusement. The cook's luck was just hilarious to watch.

For once, Sanji didn't seem to process what Nami had to say. "DAMMIT LUFFY, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING INSIDE HANCOCK'S _**ROBES**_?!"

Hancock walked outside the battleship and onto the prison's bay. She walked down alongside the Vice Admiral, with her pet snake beside her and Luffy hiding inside her robes. Momonga informed her of the requirements for a Shichibukai to enter Impel Down—entering while bound by Kairoseki handcuffs and going through a full-body search upon entering.

"Luffy, they're doing a full-body search," Hancock whispered, warning Luffy of the trouble ahead.

"I'll deal with it somehow! Just carry on!" he whispered back.

"So be it!" Hancock said, allowing her to be led to the hellish prison.

The prison guards lined up at the entranced, saluting formally despite initially being infatuated by Hancock's beauty.

"Here goes, Luffy!" Hancock said as she walked through the gates, into the hell where Ace is kept.

_**Until Ace's public execution...**_

…_**.33 hours remain.**_

* * *

**S/N: Next chapter will include Luffy finally entering Hell on his own, and his meet-up with "Captain Buggy" (who by the way is a Shichibukai Post-TS SPOILERS). I'm trying to put as much content into a chapter as possible, but it's kind of hard to do when you have a tight schedule. Regardless, the next chapter will but up as soon as possible, so be prepared!**

**DON'T FORGET ZE UPDATEZZZZ!**

**Ta-ta~**

**-Serena**


End file.
